Public Statements

United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012

Floor Speech

Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise to express my strong support for H.R. 4133, a simple bill that will demonstrate our ongoing commitment to Israel, and will enhance our efforts to strengthen Israel's own defensive capabilities. Our goal, like Israel's own, is that Israel can defend itself, by itself. This objective of self-reliance is one of the elements that makes Israel stand out.

Israelis, from the very beginning, have understood that it is their own efforts that will ultimately determine the future of their state. It is this realization and an absolute determination to provide a better, safer future for their children that has enabled the Jewish state to succeed so magnificently in a region choked with hatred and violence reserved for them alone.

Israel's military superiority is a necessity because so many of Israel's neighbors still will not accept Israel's sovereignty and the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in their own historic homeland. Israel's security need not come at the expense of the Palestinian people's legitimate aspirations for independence and sovereignty. But those dreams of independence and sovereignty absolutely must not come at the expense of Israel's security.

As Iran continues to move toward a nuclear capability--that it must never, ever achieve--it is more critical than ever that we demonstrate our support and commitment to Israel's security, which this bill does.